A migration agent and celebrant wife married 16 Brisbane brides off to Indian men as part of a "one-stop shop" for spousal visas, a trial has heard.
Chetan Mohanlal Mashru and Divya Krishne Gowda are alleged to have wed couples on sight, with the grooms seeking a citizen to help them stay in Australia and the brides large payments.
The Brisbane District Court heard in one case taxi driver Pardeep Singh, who had failed to have his student visa extended, allegedly paid Mashru and Gowda $5000 to marry Josephine Haig, a young woman "down on her luck".
Ms Haig was also paid $5000 and Mr Singh agreed to give her a further $1000 a month over the two years before he could apply for permanent residency.
Prosecutor Greg Lynham said in his opening statement on Monday that the pair met for the first time at Mashru's Oxley townhouse, south of Brisbane, on March 27, 2011.
They were allegedly married that same day by Gowda and told what to do to make it look legitimate like setting up a joint back account.
Mr Lynham said a further 15 weddings were carried out in 2011 and 2012 under similar circumstances but they were "nothing more than a ruse to obtain a spousal visa".
"(The townhouse) was no chapel of love," Mr Lynham said.
"At the time the marriage documents were signed Josephine was not wearing a wedding dress, she had no bridesmaids, there were no vows or wedding rings exchanged, there was no kissing of the bride, no reception, no speeches.
"This was no genuine marriage. It was a sham."
Mashru and Gowda have pleaded not guilty to arranging marriages for visas while Mashru, who is representing himself in court, is also charged with delivering a false or misleading document and influencing a Commonwealth official.
The trial continues, with six of the grooms and 15 of the brides due to testify in coming weeks.
